Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Lindsey's Bridesmaids - Danielle

Danielle's top was inspired by the asymmetrical one-shouldered top from McCall's 4451. This was a very loose fitting, woven design, and just for fun, I whipped up a muslin. It was ick.

McCall's 4451

I decided to take the safer route, and I used Vogue 9675 instead. I made a few changes to view C to obtain the design we were looking for. We didn't like the asymmetrical hemline from the McCall's top, so instead, we decided to do some ruching on the hips like Courtney's top. We did like the gathered shoulder seam, so I added an inch and a half to the neckline edge, and an inch to the armhole edge. I made the pattern longer from the waist to the hips to accomodate the ruching, and I also eliminated the waist seam.

Vogue 9675

This is what I ended up with. Pretty cute, right?

I tried it on Danielle, and I pinned the gathers at the shoulder to see what it would look like. It fit really well, but I had to let it out at the hips.

I had one previous fitting with Danielle. I went over the design details of the top with her, and I pinned the green cotton skirt muslin on her. By now, I was confident enough in the fit of the skirt that I finished all the seams and put in the zipper right away. It fit perfectly.

For her next fitting, I put the waistband on the skirt, and I let out the hips of the top.

I checked the hem of her skirt to prep it for the hem and the addition of the tulle to the lining.

This is what the top looked like when I finished it. I trimmed the neck and armholes with a folded strip of stretch satin cut with the crosswise stretch. Works better than bias tape!

Here's a close-up of the ruching at the side seams by her hips.

This is the gathering at the shoulder seam.

Now that everything fit, it was time for me to switch gears and go full tilt on all the skirts. I had to add tulle to Courtney and Danielle's skirts, and sew the ribbon embellishment on all 3.

Lindsey and I went over a few ideas as to how the ribbon embellishment should look, and this is a sketch of what we were working on.

My mom had this design in her digital scrapbooking database, and Lindsey and I agreed that it was perfect for the ribbon embellishment.

I blew up the image onto 11x14 paper, and I positioned it on the lower right side of the skirt front. I traced the design using my tracing wheel. (Throughout this process, I've learned that delicate white fabrics don't need coloured tracing paper. You can see the lines from the tracing wheel by themselves.) I had done a test with the fabric and ribbon and discovered that I could make faint pencil marks and they would hide under the ribbon.

The ribbon was sheer in the center, so I could see the marks through it. I used my stitch ripper to fold the ribbon under my presser foot as I went around the corners.

This is what it looks like on the skirt. Pretty cool, hey? I love it.

I felt like I was in a skirt factory. Kinda shows how much work it really is to make 3 bridesmaids dresses!

Lindsey wanted to add some flowers and leaves from the lace from her dress. I hand sewed them in place, and put a big green bead in the center of each flower. Aren't they gorgeous?

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About Me

I'm proud to say that I'm a seamstress. My mom taught me to sew when I was 12, and it took me a couple of years to catch the sewing bug. I think being tall had a lot to do with it, because I couldn't find clothes that fit. I had a lot of fun making pants in all kinds of bright colours. After high school, I decided I wanted to go to school and take a Fashion Design course. I took 2 years of Fashion Production at Olds College.
I worked with my dad at his upholstery shop for 6 1/2 years. I recently found an upholstery job 10 minutes from home. I absolutely love my job!
I've also put my sewing business on hiatus, and am hoping to enjoy some much-needed selfish sewing.
Welcome to my blog! I'm thrilled to be able to share many of my favorite projects with you. Enjoy!